


No Family to Love

by JudgeDreddSA



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Animal Attack, Child Abuse, Friendship, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-04 16:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12172272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JudgeDreddSA/pseuds/JudgeDreddSA
Summary: Due to the ongoing hiatus of Living up to her, I've decided to write a scenario of what could happen next if it's ever updated.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AllysonGems](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=AllysonGems).



**Due to the ongoing hiatus of Living up to her by AllysonGems, I've decided to upload a scenario of what could happen. This'll be a oneshot but if I get more demands to continue this, I'll write more. Thank you for reading**

  
  


“SHE DID WHAT?!” 

 

Dr Maheswaran was enraged at the moment after Connie told her what happened to Steven. Steven, this innocent boy, was attacked by Pearl! His own family member! After years of treating child abuse victims brought in by police, she was not going to stand by. Her worst case yet was a 10 year old boy who only weighed 56 pounds and had an ear cut off by his mother in a fit of a meth rage.

 

“That's what happened mom.” said Connie as she sobbed and wiped her eyes of tears. After seeing steven in a coma, out of anger, she told pearl the whole truth. Dr. Maheswaran had the same look on her face when she found the sword in the umbrella stand but it was worse. She had an angered look on her face and she could almost see tears in her mother's eyes. 

 

“Connie, why don't you go check in on Steven. I have to talk to his  _ family.”  _ Dr. Maheswaran said the last word with venom in her mouth. Connie did as she was told so Priyanka walked back to the waiting room. Since it was 8 o’clock at night, she was the only doctor with a few nurses in the hospital. Greg, Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl, Lapis and Peridot were patiently waiting for news about their youngest family member. Peridot looked up and saw Dr. Maheswaran but with a cold look on her face.  She ran up to her.

 

_ How could his family treat him like this _ thought Dr. Maheswaran 

 

“How is he Doctor?! Is he going to be okay?” asked Peridot. Priyanka simply walked past her and directly looked at Steven's family.

 

“Get out.” quietly said Dr. Maheswaran 

 

Greg looked up at her in confusion.

 

“Excuse me?” said Greg

 

“You heard me  _ Mr Universe.  _ GET OUT!” yelled Priyanka 

 

The rest of the gems and greg flinched at her voice.

 

“Dr mahe-”

 

“Don't even try it pearl! Connie told me everything! How you blamed Steven for his mother's disappearance, calling him useless, a mistake and most of all, saying you never cared about him.” said Priyanka 

 

Pearl had her mouth open and tears were coming down her face after listening to Dr. Maheswaran’s outburst. But deep down, she knew it was true. She turned away and sobbed into her hands. Garnet stood up from a chair.

 

“Dr. Maheswaran, we never meant for this to happen. We understand Pearl did an unforgivable act and I'm still angry at her but-”

 

“BUT NOTHING! Connie told me you're capable of seeing into the future. You could have stopped that horrid woman from hurting a child!” said Priyanka as she pointed at Pearl.

 

“You of all people should know how dangerous and mentally unstable person like Pearl is around a child who SHE blames for her friend's death!” exclaimed Priyanka 

 

Garnet struggled to come up with a defense but couldn't because what the doctor was saying was all true. Amethyst tried to back up her friends.

 

“Look Doctor-”

 

“Don't ‘look doctor’ me amethyst! Nothing excuses child abuse let alone not doing anything about it. If you were a good family, you'd try and move on with the future then stay in the past. But no, all you 3 decided to throw all your insecurities and depression on steven and look where's that got him! Said Priyanka 

 

By now Greg, Amethyst, Garnet and Pearl were crying from regret. Dr. Maheswaran then took out her phone.

 

“Listen you four, from this point on you are hereby banned from even seeing Steven. If you even dare come near this hospital, I will personally call child services.”

 

She then focused her attention to Lapis and Peridot.

 

“From what my daughter told me how you tried to defend Steven, you'll be permitted to see him.”

 

Lapis and Peridot breathed easily after hearing her promise but it was the exact opposite of the others. Greg and Pearl were hyperventilating right now. Having their baby boy taken away from them was their their ultimate nightmare. Amethyst in a fit of anger summoned her whip.

 

“You or some other stupid doctor aren't gonna keep me from seeing my baby brother.m!” said Amethyst with a glare. But Dr. Maheswaran had her own.

 

“Touch me and I will contact the authorities to come arrest you and you will never have contact with Steven again.” Coldly said Dr. Maheswaran

 

Amethyst was just getting ready to strike when Garnet grabbed her arm. 

 

“We are not doing this amethyst.” calmly said Garnet

 

“But she sai-” 

 

“NOT NOW!” yelled Garnet.

 

Amethyst immediately shut up. Garnet then pointed to Greg and Pearl.

 

“All of us four are going back to the temple and we're going to have a  _ SERIOUS  _ talk about what's transpired here. I am ashamed of myself and all you three. Rose never wanted Steven to feel like he's a mistake but we failed.” said Garnet with tears in her eyes. Greg and the gems wanted to fight but ultimately, it would just be useless. Garnet and the rest left the hospital leaving an angered Doctor and two gems in the waiting room.

 

“If you two just follow me, you can see your friend in his room.” said a surprisingly calm Dr. Maheswaran. Peridot and Lapis nodded and followed her to Steven's hospital room.

 

**My heart goes out to the victims of the Mexico City Earthquake.**


	2. Chapter 2

Beep,beep,beep,beep

 

That was the only sound Connie heard from Steven's heart rate monitor. Connie was wiping tears from her eyes as she sat next to Steven on his bed and started to pet his hair. She didn’t regret telling her mother the truth. Steven needed redemption for what happened to him. She was soon taken out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Lapis, Peridot and her Mom in the room. Lapis and Peridot went to the other side of the bed. Peridot rubbed steven's left hand, thinking if she rubbed his hand enough, he would wake up. 

 

“Connie, if you want you can stay here for the night.” said Dr. Maheswaran 

 

Connie was shocked none the least.

 

“Really?! But tomorrow I have tennis practice even though it's a Saturday. Don't you usually say tennis is important?” said Connie

 

“That can wait, being with your friend in need is more important.” said Dr. Maheswaran with a smile. Connie smiled as well and nodded.

 

“You two can stay as well if you want. The more the better.” said Dr. Maheswaran. Lapis and Peridot smiled at her offer. Dr. Maheswaran’s phone rang, she grabbed her phone and saw it was her husband.

 

“If you'll excuse me, I have to take this.” said Dr. Maheswaran. Connie and the two gems nodded so Dr. Maheswaran went outside and answered her phone.

 

“Hello Doug.”

 

“Priyanka! Thank goodness, I was getting worried. Is Connie with you?” said Doug

 

“Yes she is. We're at the hospital.”

 

“Alright I’ll pick you up and-”

 

“No doug. I'll be staying here for the night to check on Steven.”

 

“But what about Connie?” said Doug

 

“I’m letting her stay here for the night and she won't be attending tennis tomorrow.”

 

Doug was confused at his wife's calm voice and how she would even let their daughter skip tennis practice.

 

“Honey, is everything alright?” said Doug. Priyanka rubbed her forehead and replied back.

 

“No Doug. Everything's not alright. Steven's a victim of child abuse and that's why he's in a coma.”

 

Doug was shocked. When he and his wife met Steven's father and guardians, they seemed like nice people and wouldn't look like they would hurt Steven.

 

“What?!” asked Doug

 

“Pearl, Steven's guardian, attacked him out of grief and his father nor his two other co-guardians tried anything to stop her.”

 

“Are they at the hospital?”

 

“No. After Connie told me the truth, I kicked them out of the hospital and threatened to call Child Services if they didn't leave.” said Priyanka 

 

“Was that wise Priyanka? I mean, maybe there's some other reason-”

 

“No Doug! The gems themselves told me what happened to him. I couldn't just let him go back to that house again.”

 

“Well honey, if you think it's a good idea then I support you all the way. Do you need me to come as well, in case they come back?” asked Doug

 

“Thank you sweetie but no. I made it pretty clear to them I didn't want them to have any contact with Steven.”

 

“If Steven does wake up’ what's going to happen to him?” asked Doug

 

“I'll try and find some relatives of Steven who are willing to take him in. I think Connie said something about Steven having an uncle so I'll start with him. If I can't find him or anyone else, I was thinking he could stay with us for a bit till we can figure something out, if you don't mind. Social services is probably not a good thing for him to be in.”

 

“Of course I don't mind Priyanka. Steven is more than welcome to stay with us.” said Doug

 

“Thank you Doug.”

 

“Well I’ll see you tomorrow Honey. Love you.”

  
“Love you too Doug.” and with that, she ended the call. She soon re-entered the hospital and walked back Steven's room. What she saw warmed her heart; Connie,Lapis and Peridot were huddled around Steven in his bed. They were all asleep, looking ready for anything that might hurt their friend. Deciding everything was alright, Dr. Maheswaran turned the lights off in his room and walked to her office to get some much needed rest. 


	3. Chapter 3

It was just about nine o’clock at night and Greg, Garnet Pearl and Amethyst were in the living room. Greg had his back against the front door, Pearl was huddled in a ball on the couch, Amethyst was hugging her knees up to her chin on a barstool and Garnet was just standing in the middle of the room. All four were devastated at the thought of having Steven taken away from the them and they had no one else to blame but themselves. They pushed Steven away when he needed support the most and when they did notice him, they abused him! Garnet was struggling to stay together because in her head, ruby and sapphire were having an emotional breakdown and screaming at each other.

 

_ This is all pearl's fault! _

 

_ Ruby please, we can't blame pea- _

 

_ Of course we can blame her! It's all her fault we might never see Steven again! Without my cutie pie, I'm nothing! _

 

_ We can not act irrational ruby. We have to move forward and to do that, we have to have a serious talk with everyone right now.  _

 

_ What we should be doing to pummeling Pearl into submission! _

 

_ Enou- _

 

Suddenly, Sapphire was interrupted by a large roar from Amethyst who leapt from her stool and at Pearl, tackling her. Right on top of her, Amethyst began to slap Pearl in the face repeatedly until Garnet pulled her off her. Garnet held Amethyst by her left hand but she continued to thrash about.

 

“Let me at her! Let me at her! She hurt my play buddy!” screamed Amethyst. Garnet held both her shoulders and had her look in her face.

 

“Now is not the time to fight Amethyst! That's what got us into this mess!” said Garnet

 

Pearl tried to stand but had to kneel on her right leg to support herself. She was rubbing her bruised cheeks but heard everything Amethyst said about her.

 

“It's all Pearl's fault Steven's going to be taken away from us! I should have poofed her when I had a chance!” said Amethyst 

 

“DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?!” screamed Pearl who began to cry. Garnet let go of Amethyst, walked towards Pearl and forcibly lifted her up.

 

“Not only do you have to apologize to us Pearl but you are GOING to apologize to Greg and Steven for your cruel behavior.” said Garnet

 

“I'm so, so, so, sooo sorry Garnet and you too Amethyst. If I had just gotten over Rose's death, none of this would be happening. Greg, I hurt you the most and I'm apologize from the depths of my heart for hurting your son. I should have gotten over your love for Rose and support it instead of loathing you.” said Pearl with tears in her eyes. Greg simply looked away. Garnet dropped Pearl who landed on her butt.

 

“What do we do now?” asked Greg. Garnet fixed her glasses.

 

“Right now, we have to give Steven space or we'll end up hurting him more.” said Garnet

 

“Do you see Steven returning to us in the future?” asked Amethyst. Garnet lifted her hand to her head and stayed like that for five minutes. She then began to leak tears from her eyes.

 

“Fifty five percent of the futures has Steven being taken away by Dr. Maheswaran. Twenty five percent has Steven leaving and never forgiving us. The last twenty-five percent has him staying but continuing to think of himself as a failure, even harming himself in anger and depression.” Garnet choked out the last sentence with difficulty.

 

Greg and Pearl had their hands covering their mouths. If Steven was willing to hurt himself just to put up with them, it was probably best he didn't return home. Greg suddenly got onto his feet and stormed out of the temple to god knows where. That left Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst in the house. Not being able to cope, Amethyst bolted to the warp pad and left, presumably to the kindergarten. Pearl then bolted too and warped to the strawberry fields. That left Garnet who had a terrifying  vision come to her mind. She was just about to bolt when she stopped herself and watched the rest of the vision unfold. 

 

_ It'll be fine _ thought Garnet

 

She then walked to Steven's room and sat on his bed. She grabbed a pillow and smelled it. The scent of her favorite cutie pie calmed her and she definitely needed calming.

 

_ Steven, how do I make this up to you?”  _

 

**Hospital, nine hours later**

 

Connie was beginning to stir from her sleep when she lifted her hand and found the spot to be empty. She opened her eyes and found that Steven was not there.

 

“STEVEN!” yelled Connie

 

Her scream woke up Peridot and Lapis as well who were also worried. 

 

“Connie, where's Steven?!” asked a worried Lapis

 

“I don't know. I just woke up and he was gone!”

 

“Okay let's not panic! Maybe he's with your mom.” said Peridot 

 

All three got out of bed and hurried to Dr. Maheswaran’s office. Once they got there, she was drinking a cup of coffee.

 

“Mom, have you seen Steven?!” asked Connie

 

Dr. Maheswaran was confused.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I woke up and he wasn't in his bed!” said Connie

 

“Maybe he just went to the bath-”

 

“DOCTOR!” 

 

Dr. Maheswaran turned around and saw a nurse run up to her.

 

“Nurse Banks, what's the matter?” said Dr. Maheswaran 

 

“That patient you admitted yesterday, he's up on the roof and looks like he's getting ready to jump!”

 

Connie paled and knew who she was talking about. She immediately pushed open the door to the stairs and ran up to the roof.

 

“Connie wait!” said Dr. Maheswaran as she, Lapis and Peridot ran after her. Nurse Banks went outside to the front of the hospital.

  
Connie pushed open the roof door and to her horror was Steven in his hospital shirt and pants, looking like he was already to jump.


	4. Chapter 4

**Steven POV**

 

There I was, standing on the edge of the roof getting ready to jump. I have nothing left to lose now, my family never cared about me. Amethyst calling me a stupid human baby, Garnet trying to convince my mom to adopt, Pearl poofing me and calling me a mistake, and worst of all, my dad said he didn't want to lose my mom to a baby. Those memories have made me realized something: I'm not a human or a gem. I'm a Freak! An Abomination! A Mutant! I'll never feel accepted being a human and being a gem. I think it's time I just end it all. And to make sure I stay dead, I’ll have to land straight on my gem. That way, it'll shatter and I'll never cause problems again.

 

**Third Person pov**

 

As Steven was getting ready to jump, a yell stopped him in his tracks.

 

“STEVEN!”

 

Steven reluctantly turned around and saw Connie six feet from him with tears in her eyes. Dr. Maheswaran along with Lapis and Peridot ran to Connie and were horrified at what was going to happen. Dr. Maheswaran walked slowly past Connie and opened her arms.

 

“Steven, please come here.” said Dr. Maheswaran 

 

“WHY?! So I can still be a burden to everyone?!” said Steven who was crying really hard. Connie walked closer to Steven.

 

“Steven don't do this. P-please.” said a crying Connie

 

“I'm sorry Connie. I just can't keep living on in this world, knowing I'm nothing but a hybrid freak!” yelled Steven. Lapis then spoke up.

 

“Steven! You are not a freak! You're my best friend and I don't want you to kill yourself. Please come down.” said Lapis

 

Steven turned away from them and walked closer to the edge. When he looked down, he saw two security guards and a nurse looking at him. Lapis knew Steven would be able to stop her from grabbing him and she wouldn't have enough time to grab him if he jumps. Peridot then spoke up to try and convince him to not jump.

 

“Steven, when I came here, I tried to kill you but you still tried to get me to turn away. Eventually, you made me change my mind about the Earth and now I'm a crystal gem. If Rose tried to do the same thing you did, I'd probably wouldn't listen to her and I would still continue my mission. Steven, you are a special person and it doesn't matter if you belong or not. What matters the most is that you act like yourself. You never have to live up to anyone's standards.” said an emotional Peridot 

 

“Steven, you helped me love the earth and made me realize that everything Homeworld has taught me is a lie. Just Like Peridot said, you never have to live up to anyone's standards.” said Lapis

 

Steven was still hesitant, he still needed one more person to tell him otherwise and that person was Connie.

 

“Steven, before I met you, I didn’t have any friends. No one offered me friendship before. But after I met you, you've made me realize that everyone is special and I don't have to act like a sheep in the herd. You're a part of my life and I still want to grow with you despite all the obstacles we face together. So please, just step down and we'll get over this together.” said Connie

 

Steven at this point was crying over the realization that he doesn't need his family to love him. If he still had friends, that's all he needs. Steven was now crying from this realization. Dr. Maheswaran got more closer until she was in arms length.

 

“Please Steven, get off the ledge and everything will be alright.” said Dr. Maheswaran

 

She slowly wrapped Steven in a hug until it was safe and pulled him to her chest. She slowly cradled him as she kneeled down leading to a group hug with Connie, Lapis and Peridot. Steven for once felt safe.

  
“Don't worry Steven, no one will hurt you ever again.” whispered Dr. Maheswaran as the sun rose above the horizon. The clouds created an orange haze, signaling the first step of a new chance at life.


	5. Chapter 5

Finished with the group hug, Dr. Maheswaran brought Steven back to his room. Nurse Banks and the security guard came back and asked if they needed to prep an isolation room for Steven in case he tried to kill himself again but Dr. Maheswaran simply said it was not needed. Dr. Maheswaran placed Steven back on his bed, went to her office and came back with a syringe. 

 

“This sedative will help calm your nerves Steven.” said Dr. Maheswaran. Steven nodded but then asked her a question.

 

“Dr. Maheswaran, has my family visited?” said Steven with fear in his voice. Dr. Maheswaran noticed the dread in his voice.

 

“You don't have to worry about them Steven. When I learned what  _ she  _ did to you, I kicked them out. They hurt you Steven and shouldn't be near you.” said Dr. Maheswaran

 

“”I understand. I don't want to be around them anyway.” said Steven

 

She injected a sedative into Steven in his right arm so he could relax for a while. Dr. Maheswaran motioned for everyone to follow her outside. She closed the door and turned towards the worried bunch.

 

“I...I’d n-never thought he'd try to k-kill himself.” said Lapis as she hugged herself. She couldn't believe her happy and youthful friend would turn to suicide to try and solve his life problems.

 

“Everything will be alright Lapis.” said Peridot as she hugged her.

 

“Connie, I need you to watch his room for a while, just to monitor him and tell me when he wakes up. I need to go back to my office and try and contact his relatives.” said Dr. maheswaran 

 

“Sure Mom.” said Connie. Dr. Maheswaran walked back to her office. Lapis and Peridot suddenly remembered Pumpkin who they left at the barn for two days.

 

“Connie we'll be back. We have to go check on pumpkin.” said Peridot 

 

“Okay you guys, I'll be waiting.” said Connie

 

Lapis and Peridot nodded and walked towards the exit. Connie sat on the chair beside the door to Steven's room and looked back. Seeing him like this broke her heart so much. She didn’t bother to wipe the tears from her eyes.

 

**Barn**

 

“Now THAT was sweet flying!” said Andy Demayo. Andy has just flown in from Alaska to Beach city after checking in on his farm in Alaska. He decided to come back to see his cousin Greg and his son. The last time he saw them was thanksgiving and that was months ago. In his mind, that was too long for family. He parked his plane in front of the barn and looked around for anyone.

 

“Bark! Bark!” Andy turned around and saw Pumpkin who was jumping around.

 

“Oh hello there Pumpkin. Say, where's blue and green?” said Andy as he petted Pumpkin

 

“Mr. Demayo?” Andy looked up and saw Peridot and Lapis walking up to him. 

 

“Ah Lapis, Peridot. Great to see you.” said Andy. Pumpkin turned around and ran up to Lapis who picked him up and began to pet him.

 

“What are you doing back here?” said Peridot 

 

“I decided to visit my favorite nephew and his dad. Where are they by the way?” said Andy

 

Lapis and Peridot stood there frozen, not knowing if they should tell him the truth or not. Pumpkin was getting scared of his owner's lack of movement and whimpered.

 

“Ah you guys?” said Andy. Lapis spoke up.

 

“Greg is probably at his car wash but Steven… he's…..at the hospital.” said Lapis. Andy's face was a look of horror.

 

“What?! Is he okay?!” said Andy

 

“He okay Physically but Mentally….he’s not.” said Peridot 

 

“Huh?” said a confused Andy

 

“Do you remember Pearl?” said Lapis

 

“The medium short one with her gem on the forehead?” said Andy

 

“Yes. You see Mr. Demayo, four days ago, she attacked Steven.” said Peridot 

 

“What do you mean Pearl attacked Steven?” said Andy with a cold and quiet voice.

 

“For years Pearl hated Steven for causing his mom's death. So in a fit of rage, she attacked him causing him to go into a coma.” said Peridot. If she told him he poofed, it would just confuse him so she decided to settle on a shorter story.

 

“WHAT?! How could she blame him over something he couldn't control?! What about Greg?!” exclaimed Andy

 

“Greg… he didn't even bother to protect his son. In fact, Steven told us he saw a memory from his mom's gem and it showed Greg talking to Rose how he didn't want to lose her to a baby.” said Peridot 

 

Andy was filled with rage right now and was steaming. This was evidenced by the red in his face and his knuckles turning white from clenching. His nephew was hurt and Greg didn't even bother to protect him?! He needed to see Greg NOW.

 

“If you guys can excuse me, I need to pay my cousin a little  _ visit.”  _ said Andy as he walked between the two gems towards the car wash. Peridot didn't know that she unlocked a raging beast in Andy.

 

**Car Wash**

 

Greg was stirring from his sleep and when he woke up, there were beer cans all around him. This was the first time in his life that he's gotten drunk. It was the only way to cope with the possibility of his son being taken away.

  
If I wasn't so focused on how the gems thought of me, none of this would be happening! I should have just taken steven before he was poofed by Pearl!" Greg ranted to himself. He was going to take another sip of beer when someone was banging on his door.   
  
BANG,BANG,BANG!   
  
Greg dropped his can and went to open the van's back doors. In front of him was his cousin Andy but with a terrifying look on his face.    
  
"Andy? What are you doing here?"   
  
Andy immediately grabbed Greg by the collar of his shirt, pulled back his fist and punched him, right in his nose. This sent Greg tumbling to the ground but Andy wasn't finished. He threw another punch to Greg's gut causing to bend forward in pain. A kick to his kidney and Greg was on his back, wheezing from the pain.   
  
"ANDY, WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU?!" yelled Greg. His cousin stood over him with a cold look on his face.   
  
"I should be asking you the same thing! The green and blue gems told me what happened to my nephew!" Said Andy   
  
Greg's eyes widened at the revelation. But Andy wasn't quite done talking.   
  
"How could you let that happen to your son?! If I was there, I'd beat that white gem till my fists were bleeding!"   
  
"Andy I-I-I couldn't stop pearl! It happened way too fast and besides, she's much more stronger than me!" Greg tried to rationalize his failure but Andy wasn't having it.   
  
"SO WHAT! You still could've have tried But no! You decided to wuss out and let your son get hurt!" Said Andy   
  
Greg realized all the mistakes he's made as a father and all it took was a beating and rant by his cousin.   
  
"You never loved him Greg.You’ve always hated him for causing your wife to pass away, I bet you wished he died thinking your wife would come back and stay with you forever. If my parents were still alive, they'd give you the same advice but with a more brutal butt-kicking." Said Andy. He then grabbed a cloth from his pocket and wiped the blood off his fists.   
  
"I'm going to the hospital to visit Steven. And when Dr. Maheswaran tells me he's all right, I'm taking him with me. He's certainly not going to get any love from you." Said Andy as he walked to the hospital, leaving a devastated Greg on the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond theory was true, would it ruin the show's storytelling?

Garnet was just sitting on Steven's bed for the whole night, recuperating from the horrible ordeal few days ago after Rose came back when Steven poofed into his gem. Garnet glanced at the sword on the floor which Connie left behind. After a few moments, Garnet remembered something very disturbing that almost happened to Steven when he was a year old and it involved a certain gem with their gem on her forehead.

 

**_Flashback, thirteen years ago_ **

 

_ Garnet had just went on a mission to bubble a corrupted gem that threatened a nearby town in Peru. She sent the gem to the temple and got onto the warp pad. As she was being teleported, she smiled to herself thinking about her little boy's smile and excitement that always warmed her heart. She managed to get Amethyst to like Steven but with Pearl it was different. She blamed Greg and Steven for Rose's death and no matter how many times Garnet’s tried to convince Pearl Steven is a blessing, it wouldn't work. She was soon in the temple when she something that disturbed her. She saw Pearl getting ready to stab Steven with one of her swords and he was oblivious to the danger in front of him. Garnet fired a gauntlet at Pearl which hit her side, causing her to fly back. By now Steven was crying from the violence. Garnet rushed to Steven and cradled him to her chest. This stopped his crying to small whimpers. Garnet looked at Pearl and saw she had an upset frown on her face. _

 

_ “What in the world were you thinking?” said Garnet in a cold and deep voice. _

 

_ “That FREAK took the love of my life away from me!” yelled Pearl. Steven was soon getting scared from all the shouting so he tried to cuddle more into Garnet. _

 

_ “Get out my sight before I make you!” exclaimed Garnet. Pearl already in tears, rushed pass Garnet and ran into her room in the temple. Garnet looked down and was relieved that Steven was alright. _

 

_ “I'll be taking you back to your home Steven. Your father's probably worried sick.” said Garnet. As she walked to the Car Wash, she was thinking about what to do with Pearl who almost KILLED Rose's son!  _

 

_ “I'm going to have a long conversation with Pearl after this.” thought Garnet. She also decided against telling Greg what happened for fear of him taking Steven away. _

 

**_End Flashback_ **

 

Looking back, Garnet felt she should have let Greg take Steven. The team was not mentally capable of raising a child and neither are they now. Garnet’s form then broke apart separating Sapphire and Ruby. With tears in her eyes, Ruby barged through the front door and ran out onto the beach.

 

“RUBY!” yelled Sapphire as she ran out towards her lover.

 

**Hospital**

 

Connie was currently daydreaming, thinking what would have happened if Steven decided to jump. She quickly shook her head, not wanting to think about it. 

 

“Yawn” Connie looked back and saw that Steven was finally awake. She hopped off the chair and walked towards Steven. When Steven cleared his eyes, he smiled.

 

“Connie you're here! But don't you have Tennis practice on Saturday mornings?” asked Steven

 

“My mom let me skip today. After what happened to you.” said Connie with sadness in her voice. Her hand was soon grasped by Steven.

 

“It's alright Connie. I should have never taken such a drastic step in solving my problems. You're my Jam” said Steven

 

“And your my Biscuit.” said Connie

 

“Which makes us” 

 

“Jam”

 

“Buds!” 

 

Steven and Connie chuckled when Dr. Maheswaran came in.

 

“Ah Steven. You're awake, that's good news because you have a visitor.” Dr. Maheswaran motioned for someone to come in. Steven to his surprise was Uncle Andy.

 

“Uncle Andy!”

 

“Steven!” said Andy as he hugged Steven to his body.  _ Thank goodness he's alright  _ thought Andy

 

“Not that it's not great to see you again but what are doing here?” asked Steven

 

“Well I decided to visit Beach City again so when Lapis and Peridot told me you were in the hospital, I came as soon as possible.” said Andy

 

“Well it's great to see you again Uncle.” said Steven with excitement. 

 

“Mr Demayo, can I see you in my office to discuss some things?” asked Dr. Maheswaran 

 

“Oh.. of course. I'll be right back Steven.” said Andy as he followed Dr. Maheswaran. Steven meanwhile was thankful that he still had family that loved him.

 

**Andy pov**

 

“How is he doc?” said Andy

 

Dr. Maheswaran took a long deep breath and said “I'm not going to sugarcoat it Mr. Demayo. Your nephew is physically alright but he's emotionally and mentally damaged. Just this morning, he tried to jump off the roof. If it wasn't for his friends’ getting through to him, he would have killed himself.”

 

SLAM

 

Dr. Maheswaran flinched at Andy's fist slamming into her desk. He was furious at his cousin's neglect but worried for his nephew's wellbeing.

 

“Sorry Doctor. I'm just upset right now. When those two gems told me what happened, I went to my cousin Greg and gave him one heck of a beating for neglecting his son. Just makes me want to go to those lunatic gems and beat them up! Said Andy with determination but Dr. Maheswaran calmed him down.

 

“While those gems do deserve it, now's not the time for violence. Your nephew matters more which brings me to another matter.” said Dr. Maheswaran. Andy quickly sat down.

 

“We need to talk about Steven's home placement. He CANNOT go back to the gems or his father. I will not allow it.” said Dr. Maheswaran 

 

“Neither will I. I actually have a farm in Alaska where I can take Steven. He'd definitely like all the animals and especially the wilderness. He'll be able to get better living with me after a while.” said Andy

 

“I'm inclined to agree Mr. Demayo. I doubt the gems or Greg will try to intervene under the threat of me contacting the authorities.” said Dr. Maheswaran 

 

“So when could I take him?”

 

“I want to be in here for a week but after that, you'll be his legal guardian.” said Dr. Maheswaran. Andy stood up and shook her hand.

 

“Thank you doc.” said Andy as he went back to his nephews room to break the news to him.


	7. Chapter 7

“Knock, Knock.” 

 

Steven stopped his conversation with Connie and saw that Uncle Andy was at the door. That brought a smile to his face.

 

“Uncle, what did Dr. Maheswaran tell you?” said Steven

 

“Told me you're all fine and after one week, you'll be released.” said Andy

 

“That's great!” said Connie. Andy nodded and pulled a chair to Steven's bed.

 

“Say Steven, I've been talking to the the doctor and been thinking; how would you like to go to Alaska for a while?” said Andy

 

“REALLY?!...But what about-”

 

“I **_talked_** to your father few hours ago and said it's alright with him.” said Andy

 

Connie was on verge of tears right now about the possibility of losing her best friends forever but knew it was selfish for her for wanting him to stay. If he stayed, his condition might get worse and a trip to Alaska sounded great for him. Steven was happy and sad at the same time; he wanted to go but he didn't want to leave behind his family. He couldn't forgive Pearl right away but he understood Amethyst, Garnet and his dad were just grieving. After all, they did end up loving him.

 

“Better yet, if Lapis and Peridot want to, they could come with us.” said Andy sensing his nephews sadness.

 

“Thanks Uncle Andy.” said Steven with starry eyes. Uncle Andy nodded happily and went to get some supplies from the hardware store to do a routine check up on his plane, leaving Connie and Steven alone. Steven wasn't oblivious to Connie's sadness and spoke to her.

 

“Connie...if you don't want me to leave, than I coul-”

 

“No.” said Connie. Steven was confused.

 

“You deserve this Steven. After everything you went through, you deserve a break from all this magic stuff.” said Connie

 

“But you'll be all alone.”

 

“No I won't. I've been friends with Jeff since you encouraged me to talk to him. I've been teaching him fighting moves I've learned from p-” Connie bit her tongue before she could say her name.

 

“Well Connie, we do have a whole week before I leave so let's make the best of it.” said Steven

 

“Let's do that.” said Connie

 

**Hardware store**

 

Andy came out of the store with a bag of supplies for the plane. He couldn't wait for Steven to experience Alaskan wildlife; the plants, the animals, the weather-.

 

“Mr. Demayo!” Lapis and Peridot were running up to him.

 

“Is Steven alright?!” asked Lapis

 

“He's fine. He just woke up and doing fine.” said Andy

 

“Oh that's good. We were on our way to visit him when we saw you.” said Peridot.

 

“Say, how would you two like to come with me and Steven to Alaska?”

 

“Where?” asked Peridot 

 

“It's a state thousands of miles from here. I just think Steven could use a break from all this gem stuff for a while and since you two are quite attached to my nephew, i just thought you'd like to come with him.” said Andy

 

“I agree, Steven's mental state will not improve if he continues to stay here. Could we bring Pumpkin?” asked Peridot 

 

“Of course. We'll be leaving a week from today. You three will love Alaska” said a smiling Andy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, we'll see the gems and greg realize their mistake of hurting steven but will it be too late?!


	8. Chapter 8

Ruby was currently running through the forest with tears in her eyes. After she saw Sapphire’s vision of Steven being taken away from them, the emotional turmoil in her head caused Garnet to unfuse. Ruby just wanted to run to the ends of the earth, hoping the answer to fix their family would be there. She just kept on running until she felt a hand grab her wrist, immediately stopping her.

 

“Ruby stop!” said Sapphire 

 

“How can I Sapphy?! Our baby is going to be taken away and there's nothing we can do about it!” said Ruby with steam coming out of her head.

 

“Look Ruby, I know-” 

 

“How can you be so calm Sapphire?! Steven will never forgive us and it's all our fault!” said Ruby. She collapsed onto her knees and started to silently cry into her hands. Sapphire kneeled down and placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder. As a result, she looked up at her lover.

 

“You did not see the rest of my vision. Yes, he is taken by Dr. Maheswaran and it will take time for Steven to forgive us. But at the end of my vision, I saw all of us hugging each other meaning he was able to forgive us in the end.” said a calm Sapphire

 

“Even Pearl?” said Ruby with a growl. Sapphire nodded.

 

“Yes, he manages to forgive her even after all the horrible things she's done and said to him.” said Sapphire. 

 

Ruby chuckled.

 

“Just like Rose, he also has a forgiving heart.” said Ruby

 

Sapphire helped Ruby to her knees and both of them hugged in which a bright light enveloped them both, leaving behind a tearful Garnet. She phased her shades on and walked back to the house.

 

_ This won't be fixed until everyone is brought together. _ Thought Garnet

 

**Prime Kindergarten**

 

“Smash! Bash! Thud!”

 

Those were the only sounds in the kindergarten and the person responsible for it was an enraged and depressed Amethyst. Smashing rocks was the only way for Amethyst to calm down. She'd get mad, smash something and everything would be over. But this was different, the whole team could split apart and it was all stupid pearl's fault! Amethyst was busy making a rock replica of Pearl as best to her ability and once she was satisfied of her work, shapeshifted into purple puma, grabbed a boulder and threw it at the stone Pearl. 

 

“BOOM!” The replica exploded into a thousand pieces bringing a smile to Amethyst's face.

 

“Take that Pearl! What do you think Ste-” Amethyst stopped herself from saying his name, realizing he wasn't there and might never forgive them. Not being able to cope, she ran back to her hole and pulled her knees up to her chest. She hugged them and started to rock back and forward, thinking about the horrible stuff she once said about him months before he was born.

 

" _ I can't believe you're leaving for a stupid human baby!"  _ Amethyst shut her eyes tight, wanting to forget about that awful memory. But it did the opposite. Instead, it triggered a forgotten  memory of hers that she longed to forget about. But fate refused to answer her prayers and had to remember that morning.

 

**Thirteen years ago**

 

_ Steven was just a year old and began to walk around. But he could barely speak, only babbling and giggling was his form of communication. Steven and Greg were staying with Vidalia until Greg could find a home for them to live in. It was o'clock at night at night Steven was in his crib in the living room, waiting to be tucked in for naptime when he saw someone come into the house. His eyes widened when he saw it was Amethyst and happily extended his arms toward her. But it was the complete opposite of Amethyst. She glared at him and marched up to him. This brat was responsible for the death of the only gem that cared about her! Steven was not frightened because he was completely oblivious to her anger and inner turmoil.  _

 

_ “Ame!” said Steven. Amethyst was not impressed. She looked around and saw a coffee maker in the kitchen. There was fresh coffee in the pot. She then got the most brutal idea in her head and turned to Steven. She picked him up and walked towards the kitchen. She sat Steven down on the floor, shapeshifted herself taller and grabbed the pot of coffee. _

 

_ “This is for Rose.” said Amethyst and dumped the boiling pot of coffee on Steven. _

 

_ “WAHHHHHHHHH!” screamed Steven who was in excruciating pain from the heat. He was flailing about on the floor, wanting to get rid of the pain. Amethyst just stood there with a cold look on her face. Steven's skin was starting to peal and his wailing became louder. _

 

_ “STEVEN!” Amethyst heard Greg coming down the stairs and panicked. She quickly grabbed a chair and placed it near the coffee maker and placed the pot on it's side, Making it seem he grabbed it and it spilled on him. She ran out the kitchen door and ran into the night. _

 

**End Flashback**

 

Amethyst was appalled at how cruel she was to Steven at such a young age and wished she never did that to him. Like she planned, Greg believed Steven was the one who spilled the coffee and immediately took him to the hospital. The doctors said he could have died but luckily he survived. They gave him painkillers to ease his pain which also erased his memory of what happened because when Garnet and Amethyst came to visit him, he was happy to see Amethyst.

 

“I am a defective Gem! I should have just stayed in the ground and never come out! I'M SO SORRY STEVEN!” screamed Amethyst which echoed in the kindergarten. She began sobbing into her knees, regretting all the bad things she said about him and done to him.  _ What would the Famethyst think of me now?  _ Thought Amethyst.

 

“Amethyst.” 

 

Amethyst looked towards her holes entrance and saw that it was Garnet holding out a hand to her.

 

“Go away Garnet.” said Amethyst.

 

“I'm not leaving without you.” said Garnet

 

“Face it Garnet. It's over! Pearl poofed Steven, Dr. Stupid is going to take Steven away and this team is BROKEN!” exclaimed Amethyst. She went farther into her hole and looked at her knees.

 

“The tea-Family is not broken. There are painful wounds that need time to heal but not broken. But the family will stay like this until we do something about it.” said Garnet

 

“Garnet, I was the one who poured the coffee on Steven when he was a baby. Just leave me here.” said Amethyst

 

She waited after fifteen seconds and looked up. To no one's surprise, Garnet was still there but surprisingly with a stoic face. Amethyst realizing her efforts were futile, crawled out of her emergence hole. 

 

SLAP

 

Amethyst fell to the floor from the powerful slap given to her by Garnet. She opened her mouth to protest but immediately bit her tongue, knowing deep down she deserved it. She got up and saw Garnet standing over with a cold stoic face.

 

“ **When** we make up things with Steven, you will tell him what happened. The first thing to fix this family is honesty.” said Garnet.

 

Amethyst quickly nodded to avoid another hit from the terrifying leader. 

  
“Let's go, we have two more family members to get.” said Garnet. She and Amethyst walked towards the warp pad.


	9. Chapter 9

“Why couldn't I get over her? Why? Why?” 

 

Pearl kept asking herself that while sitting on one of the floating rocks in the strawberry field. After Rose came back, she was excited at the fact that the love of her life was back in her life again but she completely forgot about Steven. Poofing Steven made her realize something; she was a defective pearl. Admitting it, she hated Steven for the first five years of his life just for existing. But overtime, she managed to love Steven like a son. 

 

“Oh god! Now I remember!” said Pearl. She too had done something horrible to Steven.

 

**Flashback, twelve years ago**

 

_ It was the middle of the night and Pearl was currently watching Steven at the temple. The materials for building the house were there and they managed to build Steven's bedroom. Pearl was currently watching Steven sleeping in his crib. Greg needed someone to watch Steven in order to work full-time at his car wash but Garnet was off on a mission and Amethyst was off sobbing about Rose at the kindergarten so Pearl quickly volunteered. Greg was suspicious at her sudden request but thought that maybe she was getting around to tolerating his son. He didn't know that Pearl had a hidden agenda for his son. _

 

_ “Are you in there Rose?” asked Pearl. She missed her former lover deeply and vowed to release her love from this fleshy creature! Carefully, she picked up Steven (for Rose's safety, not Steven's) and lifted up his blue and white striped pajama shirt. There laid the Rose Quartz gem in Steven's navel.  _

 

_ “We’ll be together again. I promise.” said Pearl as she grabbed at the edges and started to pull. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't free the gem. Her gem pulling also caused Steven to wake up. He started to giggle from the tickleness from the gem yanking. _

 

_ “Hahahaha!” giggled Steven. Pearl at this point was angry at Steven for two reasons: Rose is still stuck onto him and he just woke up. This caused her snap. _

 

_ “STEVEN, JUST SHUT UP!” said Pearl as she slapped him backhanded across his face. This caused a red mark to appear on his left cheek and a tooth flying out of his mouth. A small trickle of blood came out the corner of his mouth. _

 

_ “Wahhhh! Wahhhhhhh!” screamed Steven as he squirmed in Pearl's hands. Pearl was appalled at her cruelty towards the innocent youngling and ran towards Greg for help. _

 

**End Flashback**

 

When Greg asked Pearl what happened, she simply told him that Steven climbed out of his crib and landed on his face. He took her word for it and didn't ask anymore questions. Pearl was horrified at her actions and started to cry very hard. What would Rose think of her?!

 

“Oh god! How could I have treated Steven so badly?! I slapped him when he was just a toddler!” said a hyperventilating Pearl.

 

“WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!!!” yelled Pearl.

 

“You're a crazy horrible gem who should have stayed in Homeworld.” Pearl turned around and saw Amethyst and Garnet standing behind her. They heard the whole story and were not happy. Garnet walked forward and forcibly picked Pearl up by the collar of her shirt. She phased off her glasses and had the most angriest look on her face (same angry look from mirror gem). She brought Pearl very close to her face and said

 

“You EVER hurt my cutie pie again, you'll be wishing to be shattered. Do you understand?” said Garnet. Pearl quickly nodded and was dropped down.

 

“Let's go. We're heading to Greg's van.” said Garnet as the group headed to the war pad.

 

**Car Wash**

 

When the group got to the Carwash, it was a mess. Cans of alcohol were scattered about, vans doors were wide open and the disturbing part was the amount of blood on the ground. It led to the office. The Crystal Gems ran towards the office and to their relief, found Greg sitting in a chair and stitching up his wounds.

 

“Greg, what happened?!” asked Amethyst 

 

“Andy happened.” said Greg with a sigh. He had dry tear trails on his face.

 

“Andy?! As in Andy Demayo your cousin?” said Pearl.

 

“Yeah, that cousin. He came back to Beach City for a visit, found Lapis and Peridot. They told him what happened to Steven so he came by and kicked my butt.” said Greg

 

“What?! He can't do that.” said Amethyst 

 

“I deserved it, for not protecting my son.” said Greg. All three gems looked around the room, wanting to avoid the guilty stare.

 

“It won’t even matter now. He told me he'll be taking Steven away at the end of the week.” said Greg. All three gems were shocked.

 

“He won't take my baby away from me!” said a crying and angry Pearl.

 

“We have no choice Pearl! If we even try and get to Steven, Dr. Maheswaran will have CPS take him away and we might never find him again!” said Greg

 

“Then let's kidnap him! Yeah, that's what we'll do. We'll take him when Andy's not looking and runaway to a secret place like the kindergarten or Mask island.” said Amethyst. Garnet shook her head.

 

“And after that? How will Steven feel being with a family who hurt him?” asked Garnet. Amethyst looked down upon realizing the truth. Pearl wasn't willing to accept the cold reality of truth.

 

“You're wrong Garnet! You're future vision is being hindered by Ruby! Like I said before, you only fuse for strength!” exclaimed Pearl. Garnet was shaking with anger and began to advance on Pearl. Greg stopped in front of her which stopped her walk.

 

“Garnet wait! She's just mad, that's all. I bet she didn't meant it.” said Greg. Garnet wasn't convinced. 

 

“I don't know about the rest of you but I'm going to my baby! I know he'll forgive me when he sees me!” said Pearl as she began to sprint towards the Hospital. 

 

“PEARL STOP!” yelled Garnet. She knew something bad was going to happen.


	10. Chapter 10

The sun was beginning to drop down into the horizon. It was getting late and soon, everyone would be in their homes to rest. Except one...

 

Pearl was already ahead of the group due to her headstart. She sprinted between and on top of buildings to get to the hospital. The only thing that kept her going was the possibility of never seeing Steven again. She was just about to enter through the front door when she realized Dr. Maheswaran banned her from seeing Steven so she decided to climb up the building to Steven's room. Climbing up by the ledges of the windowsills, she found Steven asleep and alone. Grateful that she wouldn't face any trouble, she carefully opened up the window and began to step through, but in the process, tipped over a vase full of flowers onto the floor, creating a large crash.

 

“Stars!” said Pearl. 

 

At that moment, Steven's eyes began to flutter open.

 

**30 minutes earlier**

 

Steven had just gotten to sleep after saying goodbye to Connie. Her dad came back to pick her up, leaving her Mom, Uncle Andy, Lapis and Peridot in the hospital. As he began to dream, he opened his eyes and saw a valley full of pink flowers and grass and there in the middle of it was his mother; Rose Quartz. But what she was doing was very out of the ordinary, like she was praying to someone. Slowly, Steven walked up to her, now being able to hear what she's saying.

 

“Please let him be alright. Please let him be alright. Please let hi-” 

 

“Mom?” asked Steven

 

Rose quickly turned around and was crying.

 

“STEVEN!” exclaimed Rose as she ran up to her son and gave him a bear hug. Steven felt safe in his mom's bosom and hugged back. He felt hot tears on the top of his head.

 

“Thank goodness you're alright Steven! When Garnet told me you were being hurt in your gem, I thought I would lose you.” said Rose as she sat down and placed her son in her lap. Steven, upon remembering his time in his gem, started crying very hard and grabbed hold of his mother like there was no tomorrow, giving the biggest hug he could muster. Rose was confused by her son's sudden change of mood and hugged him back.

 

“Steven what's wrong?!” asked a worried Rose

 

“I saw everything Mom! All those memories of yours! You said my family loved me!” yelled Steven. Rose didn't know what he was talking about and questioned him further.

 

“What do you mean Steven?” asked Rose. Steven wiped his tears with his left arm but it did nothing to stem the flow of tears.

 

“I saw what the reactions of my dad and the gems were! How Amethyst called me a stupid human baby, Dad saying he didn't want to lose you to a baby and Garnet trying to convince you to adopt instead!” said a sobbing Steven.

 

Rose was horrified by Steven's revelation of what he experienced inside their gem. If she knew this would have happened, she would have just told Greg to keep Steven from the gems until they could overcome their leaders “death.”

 

“I've tried to live up to you Mom but even Pearl thinks I'm not enough!” said Steven.

 

“Steven! Like I said, you are not required to live up to me-”

 

“Then how come the gems make me feel like I have to live up to you?!” said Steven who pushed himself out of her lap and started to back away. Rose got onto her feet and stretched out her arms toward her son in an act of forgiveness.

 

“I also know how gems change their appearance. How they feel changes how they look. When I saw the gems in your memories, they looked much younger looking which means between then and now, they grew up because of me! They're sad and angry at me! Blaming me for your death! That's the reason they look so grown up!” yelled Steven

 

“Steven listen! I don't know what you saw but it's not what you think!” said a begging Rose

 

“Steven please! Let me make it up to you! Allow me to come out of our gem and I'll-”

 

“NO! I bet you want that so you want to hurt me again!” yelled Steven. Rose looked hurt at his statement and tried to get closer to him.

 

“Steven! I'd never hurt you! Said a crying Rose Quartz 

 

“I bet you want me to DIE so you can live. Never having to worry about a organic FREAK like me!” yelled Steven as he turned around and started running in the opposite to who knows where. Rose was absolutely horrified at what Steven just said, thinking she wanted him dead just so she could take her place as leader again. All she wanted to do is hug Steven forever and never let him go till he felt safe and well again. She began running towards Steven with tears flowing off her face.

 

“Steven! Please come back! I'm sorry!” screamed Rose. Steven ignored her. He just kept running, wanting to escape the cold hard truth of reality.

 

CRASH!

 

The loud noise caused Steven's dream powers to stop working. He opened his eyes, trying to figure out what was the cause of the noise. He spotted something white coming through his window. His vision cleared up but then, his eyes widened upon realizing who it was.

 

_ PEARL! She's come to poof me again!  _ Thought a terrified Steven.

 

After climbing through the window, Pearl looked around and saw Steven sitting up in his bed. She rushed towards him.

 

“Steven you're awake!” said Pearl. Steven on the other hand, was not as enthusiastic as Pearl. He was scared for his life.

 

“Get away from me!” yelled Steven. He scrambled out of bed, landing on the floor with a thud. He quickly got onto his feet and faced Pearl.

 

“Steven! It's me Pearl.” said Pearl

 

“You're here to poof me are you?!” said Steven who summoned his shield and backed himself into a corner. Pearl kept approaching him.

 

“What?! Steven, I'm sorry for hurting you so much and it comes from the deepest of my heart! But I'd never hurt you again!” said Pearl. Steven wasn't convinced.

 

“You lie! You just want to get my guard down so you'll stab me with your spear! So you can be with my Mom again!” said a hyperventilating Steven. He was slagging down onto his butt. Pearl was shocked at his outburst but understood why. She was about to open her mouth again when the light came on.

  
“What are YOU doing in here?!”


	11. Chapter 11

Pearl quickly turned around but didn't react fast enough to see the small water fist hit her right in the stomach. That fist came from Lapis who had the most terrifying glare on her face. Pearl landed onto a table causing it to break into a thousand pieces. That's when Dr. Maheswaran rushed into the room to see what was causing all this noise.

 

“What in heavens was that- STEVEN!” said Dr. Maheswaran when she caught a glance of her youngest patient. He was currently sitting in the corner with his knees up to his face and rocking back and forth. Dr. Maheswaran grabbed him and held him close to her body. He grabbed onto her as if his life depended on it. As Dr. Maheswaran comforted Steven, she too glared at Pearl.

 

“What are you doing here you clod?!” asked an angry Peridot 

 

“I thought I told you that you were banned from seeing Steven!” said Dr. Maheswaran 

 

Pearl got up onto her feet and met them with her own glare.

 

“I'm here to take Steven from you.” said Pearl.

 

“I think not! You lost that choice when you abused him!” said Dr. Maheswaran 

 

“I know that and I'm sorry! I just want to make things up with him!” said Pearl

 

“You're not sorry. You just want him back because he's the last remaining link to your precious leader.” said Lapis. Pearl was getting frustrated because they were not cooperating with her. Pearl then summoned her spear and aimed it at the group.

 

“I'm only going to say this once; give me Steven.” said Pearl

 

Dr. Maheswaran simply hugged him closer.

 

“No.” said Dr. Maheswaran point blank. Pearl was getting ready to charge, Lapis summoned her wings for an infinite number of water and Peridot simply stayed back in front of Dr. Maheswaran to protect her from Pearl. A gauntlet appeared out of nowhere and it hit Pearl in the face, poofing her instantly.

 

**5 minutes earlier**

 

Garnet, Greg and Amethyst rushed towards the hospital to stop Pearl from committing a grave mistake. They rushed into the hospital and were about to head deeper into the building when someone familiar blocked their entrance to the hallway.

 

“What are you three doing here?!” asked Andy

 

“Andy you don't understand?!” said Greg

 

“No, you don't understand. I told you; you weren't allowed to come close to Steven! Wasn't that butt kicking I gave you earlier enough?!” said Andy

 

“We understand the rules but you see Mr. Demayo, Pearl is heading to Steven's room right now to kidnap him!” said Garnet

 

“Yeah right! I've been here the whole time and I haven't seen that child abuser anywhere.” said a doubtful Andy

 

“She can climb up buildings dude!” said Amethyst 

 

“Don't make me laugh! What is she; Spiderman?!” asked Andy

 

“You know what Andy?! I'm going to keep my son safe so just get out of my wa-”

 

CLICK

 

Greg was interrupted by the sound of a gun cocking. Andy had his right arm in the left side of his jacket. He pulled his hand and in his hand was a 44. Magnum (same gun used in Dirty Harry simply because I like the movie) which he pointed at the floor.

 

“I have a concealed weapons permit for this gun and I WILL use it if necessary.” said Andy. 

 

Andy's threat made all three back off by a few steps. They didn't know how to handle this situation when they heard a large crash 2 stories up. 

 

“What was that?!” asked Andy. Garnet saw this as an opportunity and smacked the gun across the room. She, Amethyst, and Greg ran down the hallway, slammed open the door and up the stairs.

 

“HEY!” yelled Andy as he retrieved his firearm and ran after them. Garnet burst open the 2nd story door and rushed to the location of the loud sound. She noticed a light up ahead. She stopped in the doorway and saw an upcoming confrontation between the two former homeworld gems and Pearl. Seeing no other choice, Garnet fired a gauntlet at Pearl, poofing her instantly. Her gem landed on the floor, making everyone in the room look at her with a stunned look.

 

“It had to be done.” Garnet simply said. Eventually, Amethyst, Greg and Andy caught up with her. Amethyst walked into the room and picked up Pearl's gem.

 

“What do we do with her?” asked Amethyst as she held Pearl with both her hands. Garnet walked up to her and Amethyst held the gem out to her. Garnet looked at it for a few seconds then bubbled her and sent it to the temple. Amethyst was shocked at this act and was about to question her when Garnet interrupted her.

 

“She needs time to think and clear her head. We'll let her out after a few days.” said Garnet. Amethyst sighed with relief but glanced at Steven who was in Andy's arms right now. Amethyst just wanted to hug his number one fan and never let him go but she had to force herself not to hug him. That would just make things worse.

 

“While I'm thankful you handled that woman well Garnet, I'm still going to have to ask you to leave. Considering the circumstances. Also Mr. Demayo, I think it's best you take Steven tomorrow. The sooner he gets out of here, the better.” said Dr. Maheswaran

 

“Absolutely.” said Andy

 

“I guess we'll be on our-”

 

“Wait!” said Steven. Everyone turned towards him after he interrupted Garnet.

 

“Uncle Andy, Dr. Maheswaran. Could I talk with my family for a few minutes since I'll be leaving soon?” asked Steven

 

Dr. Maheswaran almost instantly wanted to forbid his request but seeing his sad eyes and since this was his father and two of his closest family members, she guessed it was the right thing to do. She looked at Mr. Demayo who slowly nodded and turned towards the group.

 

“You have 6 minutes to talk. We'll be right outside the door if something happens Steven.” said Dr. Maheswaran. Steven nodded so she motioned for Andy, Lapis and Peridot to leave the room. Lapis didn't want to leave Steven alone but a tugging by Peridot calmed her nerves. Once the door closed, Amethyst launched towards Steven in a big hug. She wept as she hugged him tighter towards her body. Garnet and Greg soon joined in on the hug and Steven hugging them back made the group hug way better. 

 

“I'm so,so,so,sooo sorry Steven for not protecting you Steven! I should have made some kind of effort to defend you!” said Greg.

 

“Me too Steven. I let Pearl's rant on me fusing just for strength impair my judgement. I should have protected you as well.” said Garnet.

 

“S-Steven. Just to let you know, I hurt you real bad as a kid. I spilled the coffee on you be-because I was so angry! I'm such a bad gem! I'm so sorry!” said Amethyst. Steven sat on the bed listening to all their apologies and shocking revelations. He took a deep breath and spoke.

 

“I understand why you did it Amethyst but I need to ask you, do you still hate me?” asked Steven.

 

“Of course not, I care about you Steven! You're my best friend and number one fan. I'm so sorry!” said Amethyst as she dived into him for another hug.

 

“Steven, having you was the best thing to happen to me. It made me realize that I had to grow up someday and having you made me open my eyes.” said Greg

 

“Same thing with me Steven.” said Garnet

 

“I won't be forgiving you guys. Just not right away. I feel like I need time to myself to think things through but in time, I will forgive you.” said Steven. All three were relieved. Greg began ruffling up his son's hair.

 

“Of course Stu-ball. Take all the time you need.” said Greg. Steven then remembered about a certain gem as well.

 

“I don't know if I'll be able to forgive Pearl though.” said Steven. Garnet placed a hand on Steven's shoulder.

 

“Like Greg said Steven, take ALL the time you need. We understand.” said Garnet. Steven smiled and hugged her who returned the hug as well.

 

“Where are you heading dude?” asked Amethyst 

 

“Alaska. Uncle Andy told me it's beautiful this year and I'll be able to live on his farm for a while.” said Steven

 

“I bet you'll have fun.” said a smiling Garnet

 

“Come on everyone. I think it's time Steven gets his rest.” said Greg. All four got into a big group hug that would be the last hug for a while. Greg knocked on the door which was opened by Dr. Maheswaran. Steven waved goodbye to his family and was taken to another room due to the debris in his room. As Steven tucked himself in and closed his eyes, he was relieved to know that some of his family didn't hate him. He still didn't know if Pearl hates him, sees him as his mom or legitimately loves him.

 

“Goodnight... **yawn..** everyone.” said Steven.

  
“Goodnight Steven.” said Lapis and Peridot who came to say goodnight to him. Lapis turned the lights off and left a sleeping Steven to his dreams.


	12. Chapter 12

Steven opened his eyes and again found himself in the same place where first poofed and just recently, fought with his mother. Feeling guilty about treating his mom so badly, he got up and looked around for her, wanting to apologize to her. His first clue to finding her was a path of roses leading over a hill of pink grass. Walking up the hill, he was able to hear someone crying and sobbing close by. Steven started running up the hill.  _ What have I done?  _ Thought Steven as he got to the top and looked for the source of distress. At the top was flat ground but the most notable thing was Rose Quartz on her knees crying her heart out. Two small streams of tears were running down her face and onto the ground, creating a small river that was going down the hill. Tears were starting to prick through Steven's eyes because of how sad his mom was and decided enough was enough. Walking up to her slowly, he called out to her.

 

“M-mom.” said Steven 

 

Rose stopped crying and just stood there, not turning around because she wanted to know what else her baby would say.

 

“I'm sorry.” said Steven.

 

Those two words made Rose turn around and grab her son in a tight hug. She sobbed into Steven's head, making his hair wet, but Steven didn't care. All he did was return the hug as best as he could.

 

“I'm so sorry Mom for blaming you!” said Steven.

 

“No Steven, I should be the one who's apologizing not you! You were right; I left my family before I was sure they could manage without me. I'm such a selfish gem!” exclaimed Rose but Steven wasn't having it.

 

“No mom, it's not your fault! You protected my home so people like my dad could live and for that, you're pretty awesome.” said Steven. Rose smiled at his grateful comment but still had some regret inside her.

 

“I'm sorry for saying that you wanted me dead.” said Steven. Rose just hugged him tighter. 

 

“It's alright son. You did go through a horrible ordeal and you weren't thinking clearly. Why don't you tell me what's going on with you?” said Rose as she sat Steven down in her lap.

 

“Well tomorrow, Uncle Andy's taking me on a trip to Alaska.” said Steven. Rose was confused at this “Uncle Andy” person.

 

“Oh yeah, you never met him. His name is Andy Demayo and he's dad's cousin. But they're kinda like brothers so that's what I call him my Uncle.” said Steven.

 

“I never knew your father had any other relatives. So what is this place called Alaska?” asked Rose

 

“It's a U.S. state that has lots of wildlife and plants. Uncle Andy told me some time in Alaska will help me clear my head and take my mind off gem things.” said Steven. Rose knew what he was referring to and didn’t ask of it.

 

“Well I hope you have fun.” said Rose. Steven was soon being engulfed by a bright light.

 

“It seems you're waking up Steven. Just remember that I'll always be with you.” said Rose.

 

“Thanks for the advice Mom.” said Steven. Then in a flash, he was gone.

 

“Steven? Wake up buddy.” 

 

“Steven looked up and saw it was his uncle with a bag in his hand.

 

“Morning Uncle Andy.” said a cheerful Steven.

 

“Morning Steven. Come on get dressed. Dr. Maheswaran taking us in her car to the barn to save time. Your little friend is also at the barn to say goodbye.” said Andy

 

Steven got out of bed and took a look in the bag. In it were shoes, pants, his pink and yellow shirt and a pink sweater.

 

“It'll be cold up in the sky and in Alaska so these are necessary. I'll be outside while you're changing. Knock when you're dressed.” said Andy as he went outside and closed the door. Steven changed out of his hospital clothes and into the shirt, shoes and pants. He decided to put on the sweater at the barn since it wasn't that cold outside but once in the air, the temperature was going to drop. He knocked on the door, signaling his uncle that he was all dressed.

 

“Ready to go Uncle.” said Steven. Andy smiled.

 

“Well come on. The sooner we get to Alaska, the better.” said Andy. They both went to the elevator and down into the lobby. Walking out of the waiting room they spotted Dr. Maheswaran in her car.

 

“Glad to see your doing alright Steven.” said Dr. Maheswaran. Steven nodded and climbed into the backseat of the car with Andy riding in the front. During the ride, Steven twiddled his thumbs, wanting to ask his uncle a question but didn't want to offend him.

 

“How long will I be gone Uncle Andy?” asked Steven.

 

“You won't be gone forever buddy. Once your father and those gems get their head straightened out and start thinking clearly, we'll see if we can get you back with them.” said Andy

 

Steven was relieved at this bit of news and noticed that they've arrived at the barn where Lapis, Peridot and Connie were waiting for them. The occupants from the vehicle hopped out.

 

“Hi you guys.” said Steven.

 

“Hey Steven, can't wait to see this Alaska place!” said Peridot. Lapis nodded and turned to Steven. 

 

“Steven. Are you alright after what happened last night?” asked Lapis

 

“I'm alright Lapis. Thanks for asking.” said Steven.

 

Dr. Maheswaran viewed the old airplane with discomfort.

 

“Uh, Mr. Demayo. Is this plane safe to fly?” asked Dr. Maheswaran

 

“Of course it's safe. Let me show you the rest of it.” said Andy as he toured the plane with Dr. Maheswaran. Lapis and Peridot went to go get pumpkin leaving Steven and Connie.

 

“I guess this is goodbye.” said Connie as a tear left her eye. Steven wiped the tear from her face.

 

Don't worry Connie. It'll just be visit. My uncle told me I'll be back soon till he feels it's safe for my family to take care of me again.” said Steven. Connie smiled and began to blush.

 

“What?” asked Steven.

 

“I want to give you something as a trip for the road.” said Connie

 

“What is it?” asked Steven 

 

“This.” Connie placed a quick kiss on Steven's lips causing both the children to blush. Steven was shocked and had a goofy smile on his face.  _ Wow _ thought Steven

 

“Does look suitable to fly so I think it's alright for Steven to go up in that plane.” Dr. Maheswaran was just making sure that Steven was being kept safe.

 

“Steven. Time to go.” said Andy. Steven turned to Connie and hugged her.

 

“I'll miss you Connie. Jam Buds forever.” said Steven.

 

“Jam Buds forever.” said Connie. 

 

Andy then shook Dr. Maheswaran's hand.

 

“I can't thank you enough Doctor for keeping my nephew safe.” said Andy

 

“It was no problem. I'm a parent of a child also.” said Dr. Maheswaran 

  
Andy led Steven to the plane where he picked him up and placed him in the back. He secured his seat belt tightly, double checking it to make sure. Andy got into the pilot seat and started the engine. Lapis came out with Peridot on her back with Pumpkin in a baby harness on her back as well. Soon enough, the plane started riding the ground and lifted off with Lapis following close by. Steven waved at Connie who waved in return. There went Steven going off in the early morning sun for an Alaskan adventure.


	13. Chapter 13

“Quack! Quack!”

 

Steven awoke from his nap to find himself next to a group of ducks flying in a V-formation. Steven fell asleep five hours earlier on a six hour trip to Alaska. They just crossed Anchorage an hour ago and were nearing Andy's farm that was located in the North Slope of Alaska near a city called Barrow which was five miles away from Andy's farm. Steven was just looking at the ducks when he heard a high pitched voice.

 

“Stay away from me you tick infested clods!”

 

Steven looked behind him and saw Peridot waving her hands at the ducks biting her hair. Lapis was just laughing.

 

“Come on Peridot! They're just playing!” said a laughing Lapis.

 

“Ow! I don't think biting is playing Lazuli!” said Peridot as she waved the ducks away from her. Steven laughed and turned back around at the pilot seat.

 

“Uncle Andy! How much time till we arrive?!” said Steven 

 

“Glad to see you're awake Steven! And to answer your question, we're already here!” said Andy as he began to descend. Steven looked down and saw a strip of grey that was in between two large fields of crops. At the end of the runway was a large barn and what looked to be a large cabin. As the place began to lower in height, winds started to shake the plane. Steven held onto his seat for stability.

 

“Don't worry! Just a little turbulence!” said Uncle Andy 

 

Once the plane touched down, the wheels bounced a little but then landed firmly on it's wheels. Uncle Andy had the plane lower in speed until it was 10 miles per hour. Steven looked ahead and saw a young woman standing near the end of the runway. The plane then began slowing and slowing until it came to a complete stop, just 8 feet from the end where there were growing corn cobs. 

 

“Here we are Steven! Welcome to Alaska.” said Andy as he helped Steven down. Lapis landed down next to him and lowered Peridot to the ground.

 

“While that was a great experience in the sky, I never want to do that again.” said Peridot 

 

Steven looked around and saw a whole bunch of crops, flowers and green grass all around him. It was also chilly out so he was glad he put on the sweater before the flight.

 

“Mr. Demayo, back so early?” said the young woman. She had mocha skin, auburn skin and teal eyes. Her clothes consisted of jeans, a jack that had a white shirt underneath it, boots and gloves.

 

“Well Karen, I had some unexpected business to take care of in Beach City, but never mind that, I want to introduce you to these three.” said Andy as Lapis, Peridot and Steven came up to them.

 

“Steven, meet Karen Powers. She's a farmhand and helps take care of the animals. Karen, this is my nephew.” said Andy

 

“Hello Karen.” said Steven as he raised his hand.

 

“Hello Steven.” said Karen as she shook his hand. She turned her attention towards the two strange looking girls.

 

“Hello Karen, name's Lapis and she's Peridot.” said Lapis

 

“Pleasure to meet you two as well.” said Karen

 

“Say Steven, why don't you go to the stables and check out the horses with Lapis and Peridot. Karen and I have to move the plane into the barn.” said Andy

 

“Okay Uncle. C'mon you guys!” said Steven. All three walked to the stables while Andy and Karen pushed the plane to the barn.

 

“Uh, Mr-”

 

“I know what you're thinking Karen; why are those two girls blue and green. Well to answer your question; there from outer space.” said Andy

 

“Really?!” said Karen

 

“Yeah. How do you think they got here? Lapis carried Peridot on her back. There named after rocks I guess.” said Steven 

 

“And Steven?”

 

“Is part rock. Don't know how that worked but it worked.” said Andy.

 

Andy opened the barn doors and began wheeling the plane into the barn.

 

“I didn’t know you had a nephew Mr. Demayo.” said Karen

 

“Me neither until recently. I haven't seen my cousin Greg in years and I was kinda stunned he had a son.” said Andy. 

 

“What made you bring him here? Does he have any other family” asked Karen. They pushed the plane to the middle of the barn, walked out and locked the barn door. Andy then turned to her.

 

“Karen whatever you do; don't mention his family to him or to the other two.” said Andy with a serious voice. Karen looked at him with confusion.

 

“Huh? Why not?” said Karen

 

Andy sighed, then said “When I got to Beach City, Lapis and Peridot told me that Steven was attacked by one of his legal guardians which placed him in the hospital.” said Andy

 

“Oh god.” said Karen as she covered her mouth.

 

“It's true. His guardian blamed Steven for causing his mother's death who she adored greatly and took out her sadness on Steven.” said Andy

 

“Poor Steven.” said the nineteen year old girl.

 

“Gets worse; his dad and two other guardians didn't even try to protect him. His friend's mother was the only person who seemed to care. She forbade them from having contact with Steven and I made SURE to give my cousin a piece of my mind.” said Andy

 

“So you brought him here so he could clear his head after what happened?” said Karen

 

“Uh-huh. He deserves a little time for himself. I'm also going to bring his friend here as well when summer starts. I made an agreement with her mother that she'll be kept safe but I'll be keeping it as a surprise for them.” said Andy

 

“Don't worry Mr. Demayo. Secret’s safe with me.” said Karen. Andy smiled and noticed that the sun was going down. Karen noticed too and freaked out.

 

“oh shoot! It'll be dark soon and I do not want to drive in the dark. I’ll come back tomorrow morning. Have a good evening Mr. Demayo!” said Karen as she walked to her car.

 

“You too Karen. Drive safe!” said Andy

 

“I will!” said Karen as she drove onto the road and towards Barrow city.  _ Better check on Steven _ thought Andy as he walked towards the stables.

 

**Stables**

 

“Wow.” 

 

That was the only thing Steven said when he saw the horses. There were seven horses with variety; two stallions, one thoroughbred, three mustangs and one lusitano. All seven horses were in their own stalls with clipboards showing which horse was male or female and listed their names. He looked at the clipboard to a stall slowly walked up to one of the female stallions and raised his hand to her.

 

“Hey there Buttercup, name’s Steven.” Slowly but surely, Buttercup came up to Steven, smelling his hand for a few seconds. Satisfied, she licked his hand, meaning she was allowing Steven to pet her. Steven felt her muzzle which was really soft and warm with her mane feeling like human hair.  _ I wonder if animals like me so much because of my gem _ thought Steven.

 

“I must say, these are beautiful creatures.” said Peridot as she looked at the lusitano with intriguing eyes. Lapis nodded.

 

“If Blue Diamond wanted, she'd probably have some gems take some of these horses to the human zoo. She'd find these horses to be beautiful and lovely.” said Lapis

 

“Getting to know them are we?” asked Andy as he walked in. He smiled at Steven slowly petting Buttercup.

 

“A real beaut isn't she? Had her for two years.” said Andy. Buttercup then walked away from Steven and went farther into her stall. She lowered her head down getting ready to sleep.

 

“Looks like she knows when it's bedtime.” said Andy. Steven nodded and yawned.

 

“C'mon Steven, time for bed. I already have a room ready for you in the house.” said Andy. All four went to the house to get a full night's sleep and see what was in store tomorrow.

  
**I'd like to thank Lady Shadow92 for giving me inspiration for Karen Powers. Ideas will be greatly appreciated. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**The Next Morning**

 

“Neigh” said the horses out on the grass munching on their breakfast. Steven's eyes fluttered from the sound and rose up from his bed. His room consisted of a queen size bed, dresser for his clothes, bathroom and pictures of animals around his room. Lapis, Pumpkin and Peridot shared a room with all three sleeping on their bed. 

 

“Time to get up.” said Steven. He rubbed his fist over his eyes to clear his vision and got out of bed. He went into the bathroom and walked into the shower. In the mirror, he saw scars from which came from the corrupted gem that poofed him at the training arena. He still remembered the event that changed everything.

 

_ Steven screeched with pain while getting impaled by a drill parasite. The Monster stood over him, bringing tears to Steven's eyes, thinking he was going to die. _

 

_ “Looks like this is it” said Steven and poofed. _

 

Steven tightly shut his eyes, not wanting to remember the horrible event which led to now. He wrapped himself in a towel and began changing into his pants and signature star shirt. After he was dressed, he opened his bedroom door and went downstairs where there was something clearly cooking in the kitchen evidenced by the sounds of sizzling and the movement of pots and pans. Steven walked in and saw Uncle Andy making eggs on a skillet. Andy looked next to him and saw Steven which put a grin on his face.

 

“Ah Steven, Good morning.” said Andy

 

“Good morning Uncle.” said Steven

 

“I'm glad your up, just making an omelette with eggs. Here's your plate.” said Andy as he passed a plate of breakfast to his nephew.

 

“Thanks Uncle Andy.” said Steven as he began eating his breakfast. The mushroom, hand and cheese omelette sure was delicious. After finishing his breakfast, he took a sip of milk and turned to his uncle.

 

“So Uncle Andy, what are we gonna do today?” asked Steven.

 

“Oh I was thinking of teaching you how to ride a horse.” said Andy

 

“Really?! I get to ride a horse?!” asked a starry eyes Steven.

 

“It'll be fun. Do you think Lapis and Peridot will like to join?” asked Andy

 

“I don't know but I'll ask th-”

 

“AHH! Get off of me you giant clod!” yelled a familiar voice from the living room. Steven and Andy quickly hopped out of their seats and to the living room. In the living room was Peridot pinned to the ground by a St. Bernard dog which was taller and bigger than Peridot. The dog was licking Peridot's face, covering her in drool which she did not like.

 

“Bark! Bark!” said the dog

 

“Will one of you two get this animal off of me?!” screamed Peridot. Andy went up to the pair and grabbed the dog by it's collar.

 

“Alright Beethoven that's enough.” said Andy. Beethoven whined at being pulled away from his new friend but turned his attention towards Steven. He walked towards him, sniffed him to make sure he was friendly and began licking his face.

 

“Nice to meet you too boy.” said Steven.

 

“Grrr.” Peridot stood up and wiped dog drool off her face. Lapis and Pumpkin then came down the stairs into the living room as well.

 

“Peridot why are you all wet?” asked Lapis. Peridot wiped extra drool from her body and sighed.

 

“ **That** is why.” Peridot pointed to a giant dog who Steven was playing with. 

 

“Ahhh. So cute!” said Lapis as she began to pet Beethoven. Pumpkin carefully came up to the gigantic creature. Beethoven looked down and saw Pumpkin pawing at his legs. He looked Pumpkin over and began to lick him as well. Pumpkin and Beethoven were now best buddies.

 

“What's his name?” asked Lapis

 

“His name's Beethoven. Got him from a friend over two years ago when he was just a pup. Been with me ever since.” said Andy as he scratched Beethoven's head.

 

“You guys, Uncle Andy says he'll teach us how to ride a horse!” said Steven.

 

“That sounds like fun.” said Lapis

 

“No way am I riding an animal. You guys can do whatever you want but leave me out of it.” said Peridot.

 

“Let's head to the stables. I'm sure Karen will be there.” said Andy. The group went out of the house and towards the stables for an exciting day.


	15. Chapter 15

Karen was already out in the stables tending to the horses. She was busy brushing Biscuit, one of the mustangs when she heard someone come in.

 

“Mornin Karen.” said Andy

 

“Mornin Mr. Demayo.” said Karen. She then turned to the Lapis, Peridot and Steven.

 

“Mornin to you three as well.” said Karen. Beethoven ran up to her who got petted on his head by Karen.

 

“Say Karen, I'll be teaching these two how to ride a horse. Could you help?” asked Andy

 

“Of course!” said Karen as she went to the supply closet and took out four saddles. Steven went up to Buttercup’s stall who was happy to see him.

 

“Hi their Buttercup.” said Steven. Buttercup happily licked his hand and allowed him to pet her nose. Karen smiled at this scene.

 

“Well Steven, looks like you've found your horse. Which horse will you be riding Mr. Demayo?”

 

“I'll be taking Triscuit (Thoroughbred) for this ride. Lapis, you'll be taking Ruvik (Lusitano), and Karen, you can choose any horse to ride.” said Andy

 

“And which horse will Peridot be riding?” asked Karen

 

“None because I do NOT ride animals.” said Peridot. Everyone chuckled at her response. Karen opened Buttercup's stall, placed and fitted the saddle on her and guided her towards the open field leading out of the stables. Andy did the same to Ruvik and Triscuit and had them exit out of the barn. 

 

“I think I'll be taking Storm (Stallion) for today Mr. Demayo.” said Karen

 

“Well alright then, let's head out.” said Andy

 

The group headed out into the field closed off by picket fences which placed the field in a circle. All four horses were busy munching on grass when Andy brought Buttercup to Steven. Andy then picked up Steven, placed a helmet on his head since he was a beginner and gave him instructions on horseback riding.

 

“Alright Steven, to get Buttercup to walk; use both your lower legs to squeeze the horse lightly behind the girth area which is behind the front legs. If she starts to run, say whoa sit deep in your saddle and use your weight to signal to Buttercup that a stop is coming. If she doesn't respond, say whoa again and pull back on the reins. I’ll be right beside you.” said Andy

 

“Got it Uncle Andy.” said Steven with a deep breath as he improved his posture. Andy got onto Triscuit and had her stop beside Steven and Buttercup.

 

“Just do what I do Steven.” said Andy. He squeezed both his legs and Triscuit started walking. Steven did the same thing and Buttercup started to walk as well. For Steven, it was very exciting to ride a horse. Andy and Steven were riding along the fences of the field with Lapis and Karen following close behind. Lapis got a hang of riding Ruvik with the help of Karen. Peridot, Pumpkin and Beethoven simply watched behind the fence. After riding three times around the field, Andy decided to teach a new lesson to Steven.

 

“Well Steven, now that you've managed to walk a horse, we're going to start trotting. Shorten your reins and give Buttercup short, brisk squeezes with your legs, but remember, if she starts to run; pull back on her reins.” said Andy. Steven took a deep breath and started giving Buttercup short squeezes with his legs. Steven was terrified of anything more than a walk but managed to calm him himself and focus on riding. It was at this time that Andy stopped Triscuit and simply watched on as his nephew was learning how to ride a horse. Lapis wasn't comfortable of horse trotting so she got off the horse and also looked on as Steven was riding Buttercup around the field. He would continue to do this for two weeks when he managed to fully ride Buttercup and just as good as Andy and Karen. This was the start to a wonderful Alaskan adventure.

  
**Next Chapter, we see Pearl being released from her time out bubble.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Three weeks later**

 

“You sure about this G?” asked Amethyst. Both of them were inside the burning room where in front of of Pearl's floating bubble. Garnet felt like it was time to release Pearl, thinking she's had enough time to calm down. 

 

“I think Pearl's has had enough time to think things through. We can't leave her in a bubble forever.” said Garnet. Amethyst frowned and looked away.

 

“Wish we could.” muttered Amethyst. Garnet placed her hand on her shoulder which caused Amethyst to calm down. Looking at the bubble, Garnet poked the bubble with her finger and she and Amethyst backed away. Pearl's gem began to shine signaling her regeneration. She landed on the ground where her outfit remained the same except her sash was green, her shorts were pale red with blue and her shorts were still yellow. When she finished regenerating, she quickly got on her feet and looked around.

 

“STEVEN?!” exclaimed Pearl when she looked around. To her confusion, she wasn't in the hospital but in the temple with Garnet and Amethyst.

 

“Garnet where is Steven?!” asked Pearl

 

“Not here.” said Garnet 

 

Pearl groaned and said “I know that Steven but where?! I need to talk to him.”

 

“Haven't you already hurt him enough?!” angrily said Amethyst 

 

“Stay out of this Amethyst! This does not concern you!” said Pearl 

 

“Pearl, what were you THINKING when you went to the hospital to try and kidnap Steven?!” asked Garnet

 

“I-I just didn't want him to be taken away from us.” said Pearl

 

“You hurt him Pearl. What, did you think he would be happy to be with you after you physically and emotionally hurt him?!” asked Garnet

 

Pearl realizing the extent of her actions said nothing.

 

“Did you know he even tried to kill himself by jumping off the hospital roof?” said Garnet with a calmer voice.

 

“What?! Is he all right?!” asked Pearl

 

“He's fine. Thanks to Dr. Maheswaran, Connie, Lapis and Peridot, they were able to coax Steven down from the ledge.” said Garnet 

 

Pearl looked as if she ready to throw up. She fell onto her knees and grasped her head with her hands. 

 

“I'm so horrible! How could I treat Steven like this?!” said Pearl as she was sobbing. She quickly glanced up to Garnet and grabbed her legs.

 

“Please Garnet! Tell me where he is so I can make it up to him!” said Pearl. Garnet crouched down to Pearl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

 

“I understand you want to make things right Pearl but right now is not a good time. Steven needs to time to heal and to cleanse his mind. You should start thinking too, if you still want Rose instead of Steven.” said Garnet as she and Amethyst walked out of the room. Pearl took this as a chance to go to her room to really start thinking things through.

 

_ Don't worry Steven, I WILL make things up to you. I swear.  _ Thought Pearl

 

**Alaska**

 

Steven was currently fast asleep after having a big day. He helped Andy plant some oats with Lapis watering the seeds. Peridot was busy helping Karen fix the tractor who was real impressed by the green alien’s knowledge with Pumpkin and Beethoven playing in the fields. This was the first time Steven had fun, human fun. With the gems, it was always missions and nothing else but with Andy, Karen, Lapis and Peridot, he had a great time. One more member was going to be added on that list tonight. Tomorrow, Steven was going into town with his uncle to pick up some supplies for the farm so Steven decided to get some early sleep so he could wake up bright and early in the morning. But something was going to change his plan.

 

“HOO. HOO”

 

Steven's eyes began to open after his peaceful sleep was being interrupted by a strange noise. 

 

“HOO. HOO. HOO” 

 

Steven looked around the room for the strange noise but found no one.

 

“Peck. Peck.” 

 

Steven then heard something tapping his window. He looked around and was startled by two wide glowing eyes in his window.

 

“Gah!” said a surprised Steven as he fell off the bed. He carefully looked over his bed and saw that it was just an owl thanks to the moonlight illuminating his room. Steven walked up to his window and opened it. The owl looked curiously at him. 

 

“Hey there little guy, what's up?” asked Steven. The owl simply looked at him. From what Steven could tell, it was a snowy owl.

 

“You hungry?” Steven walked to his drawer and pulled out a granola bar. He opened it and offered it to the owl. The owl didn't accept it but as Steven looked at it, he saw the owl was only moving his right wing.

 

“Is your wing broken or something?” said Steven.

 

“Hoo.” 

 

“I'll take that as a yes. Here, I can heal it for you. Just relax and everything will be alright.” said Steven. He licked his hand and very slowly touched the owl’s left wing. There was a bright flash which illuminated Steven's room. When he turned around, he saw the owl stretching out both it's wings meaning his healing spit worked. The owl came up to Steven and allowed him to scratch its head.

 

“Your welcome little guy.” said Steven as he closed the window and went back to bed. The owl perched on the window and was getting ready to sleep as well.

 

_ I do matter here on earth _ thought Steven as he and the owl went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Steven justified in sacrificing himself to Aquamarine and Topaz?


End file.
